Generally, a door for emergency exit is provided with an actuating device, so that a user is able to proceed a locking/unlocking process. The actuating device includes a push bar provided on an inside face of the door and an outer handle provided on an outside face of the door. The door is able to be opened either by pushing the push bar or rotating the outer handle. Once the actuating device is locked by a specific key, the outer handle will not be able to be rotated, but, the push bar is still able to be used to open the door. Thus, a user indoors is still able to open the door, yet a person outside the door is not able to open the door, when the actuating device is locked by the key. Due to this kind of actuating device being effective in the control of entrance, it is widely used in public buildings, such as theaters or apartment buildings. Although the locked outer handle does have a great effectiveness in the prevention of unauthorized entrance by certain people, some users may consciously or subconsciously rotate the outer handle trying to open the door, which often damages internal connection of the actuating device and causes a deterioration in the engagement between the actuating device and the door.
From the previous description, it is noted that to fully solve the aforementioned problems, alternatives and/or improvement(s) to the conventional actuating device of a lock are thus required. A clutch assembly enabling a free turn of an outer handle of a door with respect to a latch assembly of a lock constructed in accordance with the present invention tends to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.